Read When No One Is Watching for Free Online

table. “Leave that to me. I may be able to pull a few strings to keep the damage to a minimum.” Sam stood up and began pacing. “So, here’s the play, Blair. If anyone asks, you took a cab home. You were never at the accident scene, and you know nothing about it.”
    “What if the little girl remembers seeing me there?”
    Sam winced and tried hard to conceal his frustration. “Chances are, it won’t even occur to her to mention it,” Sam replied coolly. “If she does, people will think she’s just confused. She’s seven years old, probably in shock, and maybe retarded. Who will believe her? You were never there—got it?”
    “Damn! I just thought of something else,” Blair said, closing his eyes and looking as if the thought were causing him physical pain. “The valet at the hotel— he saw me get into Danny’s car. He handed me the keys.”
    “Does he know you?” Sam asked, growing irritation evident in his voice.
    “No, I’ve never seen him before,” Blair replied.
    “What did he look like?” Sam asked.
    “Short and slight, Hispanic, young. Twenty, maybe.”
    “Probably nothing to worry about,” Sam said confidently. “The police aren’t likely to talk to him. Why would they? Anyway, he probably deals with dozens of people every night and wouldn’t have any reason to remember you.”
    Blair looked defeated and utterly dejected. He knew he’d made horrible decisions earlier that night and was overcome with remorse and self-loathing. Yet Sam’s words had some validity. He couldn’t undo what had been done or dwell on those poor decisions; he needed to move on. He honestly believed that he could do tremendous good as a United States congressman, and there was something to be said for considering the greater good. And he had his family to think about. Both Kimberly and Sam wanted this as much as he did, maybe more, if that were possible. He would trust in Sam’s judgment and heed his advice. No one knew more about these kinds of things than Sam McIntire.
    “Okay, Sam, I’ll do it your way,” Blair said with quiet resignation, staring at the blood-soaked bandage on his finger.
    Sam nodded slowly. “It’s your only choice, Blair. No matter what happens next, you just need to act as if you know nothing about all this. You took a cab home by yourself. It’s as simple as that.”
    Blair looked down at the kitchen table for a long moment. “Sam?”
    “Yeah?”
    “What if the driver survives? He could put me at the scene.”
    Sam eyed him coldly. “Well then, let’s just hope he doesn’t.”

CHAPTER 5
    Early Sunday morning
T he temperature was mild, but Blair Van Howe shivered at the thought of facing his best friend. Act like you were never there. That’s what Sam had advised. And Blair knew he was nothing if not a great actor. It’s what he did best. Yes, he was smart, and certainly a capable lawyer, but he was not possessed of a brilliant legal mind, and he knew it. He wasn’t a deep thinker or a masterful strategist, like Danny. But he was a gifted communicator. The ability to speak—articulately, eloquently, and persuasively—came naturally to him. So did acting, and those two talents coalesced perfectly in the courtroom. It was his stage, and he had pulled off many a masterful performance there. With a jury as his audience, he was absolutely convincing playing whatever role the situation demanded. Sometimes it required anger or righteous indignation, sometimes humility and sincerity. Some situations called for him to be the brash showman; other circumstances called for humble, folksy charm. Blair delighted in the challenge of immersing himself in a role and leading his audience exactly where he wanted them to go. But not this role, and not with Danny Moran as the audience.
     
    Danny had been his closest friend since they attended law school together at Northwestern. Fate had brought them together as dormitory roommates their first year, and they quickly became fast friends.